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BROWSE REVIEWS Click on a letter to browse through the reviews on this site: |
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM Perhaps one of the most brutal attack on the
senses since the dizzying editing work in NATURAL BORN KILLERS, REQUIEM
is a movie that refuses to hold any punches back with its depiction of drug
abuse and those who suffer the consequences by allowing themselves to become
victim to it. Director and writer Darren Aronofsky, who made his feature
debut with 1998’s PI, probes into the world in which people are
drowning themselves into despair and hopelessness. The film itself is like a
drug trip, as it drives into hyper speed one moment as it showcases madness,
confusion and self-mutilation of the mind and the senses. And moments where
things cool down a bit, and we see human beings who are clinging to dreams in
such a way that failure and disappointment is as inevitable as the sun rising
each morning. The movie isn’t asking us to watch drug addiction but to
experience it. Aronofsky has some great talent under his direction, and they
include Jared Leto (whose best work to date have been minor roles in such
films as THE THIN RED LINE and GIRL, INTERRUPTED), Jennifer
Connelly (who is of course a very well known actress who is most famous for
the ultra-creepy fantasy nightmare classic, LABYRINTH), Marlon Waynes
(by looking at his resume, which include SCARY MOVIE and DUNGEONS
AND DRAGONS, you would not expect that he is capable of emoting anything
other then goofy accents. Wrong). And then there is of course
legendary actress Ellen Burstyn, who of course has been in some of the
greatest movies of all time, and cranked a few great performances in her
lifetime. Add this one to the list, as she does something she has never done
before. She is this hideously, ugly woman in the role, and Burstyn actually
overcomes her shocking physical appearance (considering she is such a
beautiful woman in real life), and allows us to witness her soul and her
insecurities about her own identity, not just her appearance. To say this
won’t go down in history, as one of her greatest performances is an
understatement. Anyone who knows how to appreciate great, and forget
that it is acting, will remember this performance in the years to
come. The story revolves focuses in on four people
and their pursuit for happiness through destruction of themselves and of
their existence. Sarah Goldfarb (Burstyn) spends her days chatting away on
the sidewalk outside her Brooklyn apartment with a bunch of old hens. Her
life is an abyss of loneliness, and the only thing that keeps her going is a
popular game show about motivation. When she is called to make a guest
appearance on the show, she is ecstatic about the invitation. But to go on
television looking like she does? She doesn’t want the whole world to see her
as she sees herself. So decides to diet so she can fit into her red dress,
which she plans to do with the help of diet pills prescribed to her from a
doctor. However, she becomes hopelessly addicted to the pills, doubling her
doses. She begins to have bizarre hallucinations, and one being that her own
refrigerator is actually harassing her while she visualizes herself on the
show, wearing her red dress and all smiles. Her son Harry (Leto), and his girlfriend Marion
(Connelly), are experiencing their own problems in life. Both are heavily
addicted to dope and to say that they would do anything for a hit is
an understatement. In the films moderately humorous scene, Harry steals his
mother’s television to a pawn shop, to which Sarah goes back and pays for it
as if it where a routine (the set is even chained to the wall). Harry loves
his mother (the sincerity is heard in his voice every time he says Ma),
but doesn’t recognize that she to is experiencing a force that has engulfed
her of her mind. Harry and Marion are always thinking about schemes to get
rich quick so they can continue on with their habits (they sell dope, but do
more than they distribute). They even dream about opening up a clothing store
one day, once they are well secured. They score heroine with friend and
fellow addict Tyrone (Waynes), a guy who just wants to do good in the world
but always ends up falling short. When their source for their habit falls
apart, the three fall into a nightmarish hell where they would suffer
horrific (and I mean horrific), degradation and humiliation in order
to keep up with their habits, which is rapidly increasing everyday. When all
is said and done, each of these people have descended into a world where
self-destruction and sadness is the only thing in eye site that exists. Their
pursuit for happiness has failed as each one has lost something they could
never regain again. It’s hard to like a movie that has absolutely
no hope or no joy in it whatsoever, and the joy that is in the film is
tainted joy that is destined to rot away. The final twenty minutes of the
film are perhaps twenty of the most ugly and depressing minutes one will ever
endure. One would think that after the struggles each of these people where
forced to endure that they would be allowed peace. But that would only
contradict what the movie is saying about addiction and its devastating
effects it has on the mind and on the soul. What we are seeing is a harrowing
ordeal of ordinary people who have forever damned themselves any chance of
pure happiness. The performances are utterly amazing to watch. Leto, looking
like a ghost of a human being gives a powerful performance. His love for his
mother and his girlfriend are the two things that destroy him as he fills a
void in both women’s lives. Jennifer Connelly’s performance is perhaps the
hardest to watch, as she is this beautiful woman who appears to be headstrong.
But she is vulnerable to her own hell, and Connelly bares her own soul in the
role and her spiral downwards is hard to watch. Her final scene, the final
glimpse of her is an extremely gripping one as one knows that she has now
entered a vicious and terrifying cycle of brutality. Waynes is a revelation here, and goes to prove
that everyone in Hollywood has talent if allowed to express it through the
right material (if he could pull this off, just imagine what Sandler can
do?). His performance is nothing short if remarkable, and gives his scenes
such presence and life, and we do genuinely care about him and his life. His
search for happiness has been one that has been going on for a great many
years, and it’s an honest but sad one because you know that he has put up a
roadblock from ever obtaining it, but he still tries to find it. Ellen Burstyn is absolutely amazing, and
to think that we had seen it all from her. I don’t think it would be possible
to describe in full detail of just how her performance and touched me and how
much I wanted her to fulfill her dreams, which where innocent at best.
Watching it, you can’t help that it’s not fair that such a woman who has
suffered for so long would wind up destroying herself. But her addiction is
one that is pressured by society I think. Image is everything, and without it
you’re ordinary and plain. She’s ashamed of herself and her own identity, and
believing she can find salvation in the form of a pill she subjects herself
to even more loneliness and self-hatred. She never sits down and thinks about
what makes her a good person, but tortures herself by reminding herself about
what makes her a flawed one. Like the rest of the characters, she has sealed
her fate when she hunts for her dreams by disconnecting herself from her
state of mind. These people all have the solution for what is mangling their
souls apart in arms reach. But each opts to take a path that will lead them
to their own demise. I think the sacrifices that that Aronofsky's
asked of his actors paid off. Each had to perform some sort of grueling task
(especially Burstyn and Leto), but I think that everything he has done here
pays off. Some would probably claim that he uses camera tricks and snazzy
editing to falsely captivate that audience. I would disagree. I think he is
capturing the chaos that the world of drug addicts live in, and what we are
seeing is a reflection of what is going on in their souls. It’s confusing at
time, especially with split screens. But the story isn’t eliminated through
impressive camera tricks. It’s enhanced in my opinion. It really is a miserable movie and one that I
wouldn’t recommend to those who can’t endure such misery in a theatre. But
this is a movie that should be seen. It’s not cowardly and it’s heroic. It is
simply portraying a problem by using symbolism and creative techniques. It’s
showing the truth. My Grade: A |